Queen's Gambit
by Tsukiko hoshino
Summary: Sakura lived a normal life until one night.  Next thing she knows a bunch of Weirdo's started showing up one by one. Now her Eyes are opened to the dark and the things that revel in it. In a world where everyone has their own agenda, who do you trust?
1. O' Come All Ye Faithful

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.  
>Non-Beta version. <p>

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><p><strong><em>Queen's Gambit<em>**  
>By: <strong>Tsukiko Hoshino<strong>

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><p><em>You'd better hope and pray<em>_that you make it safe __back to your own world,__  
><em>_You'd better hope and pray __that you'll wake one day __in your own world,__  
><em>_because when you sleep at night__they don't hear your cries __in your own world__  
><em>_Only time will tell __If you can break the spell,__Back in your own world__  
>- Shakespeare's sister (Stay)<em>

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><p>For a girl like her, college was a dream come true. An orphan since the moment of her birth it was as if the odds had been stacked against her since that time. Nothing deterred her though, not anymore.<p>

Of course when she was a child plenty of things had.

No one seemed to want a child with pink hair.

No matter how good her grades were, no matter how polite or pretty she dressed no one ever wanted her for keeps.

The other children teased her ferociously, never letting her play with them, and when hopeful adoptees came to visit they would always see her off by herself face buried in some book. "A problem child." They'd whisper to themselves before turning their gaze to more outgoing children.

Like every child she had hopelessly wanted to fit in, strived to be as normal and as mundane as possible after realizing that standing out would only cause more problems for herself in the long run. It didn't do her much good in finding a family, but it got her through her teenage and childhood years.

'That doesn't matter anymore.' Sakura reminded herself. She was twice as bright and three times as hardworking as those other children because of it. She'd had to be after all. College wasn't going to come cheap and you didn't get into one of the best universities in Japan with half assed grades and lousy work ethic.

She worked two jobs one nearly right after the other with a few hours sleep in between before making her way to classes. She was running on empty nearly every day yet managed to rank at the top of each of her classes. She even did tutoring on demand just to get by. It was a long and arduous regimen, but she comforted herself. 'It'll all be over soon anyways.' She thought. A week from now she would begin her internship at the local hospital.

She would finally be able to breath, even if just a bit.

The internship wasn't going to pay much, and the hours would be painful, but it was one step closer to her dream. If there was anything Sakura was known for it was the single-minded pursuit of her goals. To her, until she accomplished that one thing, everything else had to take a back seat.

As a doctor, she would have everything she'd lacked as a child. She'd be respected and welcomed. People would listen to her when she talked, ask for her opinion in things. She wouldn't be told what to do or where to go. She'd be saving lives, prolonging them, and even enriching them. She'd be showing everyone her true worth.

Soon, she'd be one of the youngest doctors in the modern world at only 23. All the time she'd spent studying rather then playing was finally going to pay off.

Taking a deep breath she placed her hands on the wrought iron rail of her third floor terrace and looked out over the bustling city below. Honestly, she hated how confining and noisy the city was, but for the bath she'd chosen it was simply a necessary annoyance.

The thing she wanted most of all was to save lives. The thing that kept coming back to haunt her was that in the back of her mind she wondered that if the doctor who had attended her mother then maybe she would have been around to see her own daughter grow up like all parents should be able to.

It hurt her heart to think about what her life might have been if only things had been different. On a day like this she was far to weary to stop from thinking on it though. 'That's right.' She thought, standing a little straighter as she remembered something import. Turning on her heel, she seeked solace in her warm and dry apartment for a few moments. 'I have somewhere to be today.'

Today was the day of her birth, and subsequently her mother's death. Every year on that day she made sure to visit her mother's grave and do the usual cleaning, incense lighting, and offering to the dead. It was done twice a year, once on this day and another on O-bon in the summer.

Sliding the glass doors shut behind her, Sakura prepared to leave, slipping into her black rain boots and warm, grey peacoat. Before leaving she gave herself a once over in the mirror before grabbing her purse and umbrella.

The face in the mirror was not exactly homely, nor a modern day Helen of Troy. She sat somewhere in-between with a slightly broad forehead that was only accentuated by her long face framing bangs. Her hair was oddly colored, but exotic- or so she'd been told. Despite the oddness of it, she took great care in it, and it was what she prided herself on most although it had brought her unwanted trouble in the past. Pretty green eyes that should have clashed horridly with her hair but didn't and a slim but pert nose with full, shapely lips.

It was just to bad she lacked abysmally in the bust department.

'Well…Brains over beauty.' She reprimanded herself, flipping out the lights and slipping out the door.

She made it to the rail way just in time to avoid waiting in the rain for thirty minutes for another tram to come by. Traveling from Itabashi to Nagano took about an hour and a half so she easily settled into her seat, and flipped through the study book she kept handy inside her purse. It was a good opportunity to prepare. One the other hand her eyes would nervously flit around the enclosed space for no reason at all.

'Today feels kinda strange….' Sakura admitted to herself when exiting. What it was, she couldn't say exactly. Anticipation and anxiety seemed to be welling up inside her with each hour of the day. By the time she was off the railway, she was practically buzzing from it.

It felt like something was just going to sweep her off her feet.

Staring up at the gray sky, a tremble ran down the length of her spine. It felt like she was on the verge of some sort of momentous change. "Ridiculous." She murmured, shaking the thoughts away. With the expert flick of her hand she opened her umbrella to guard against the rain dripping sleepily down. "Now's not the time to suddenly become superstitious." She murmured to herself under her breath.

Pushing everything behind her, she went along on her merry way making a few stops to gather supplies before taking the long walk towards the cemetery. By the time she began making her way up the long and winding set of steps that lead to the solitary little hill the last vestiges of light were lingering on the horizon.

On the way up she passed by a uniformed man wearing an eye patch and a medical mask. It wasn't really an uncommon sight. Plenty of people in Japan wore the masks for a number of reasons; the sick wore it to prevent infection as a sign of social responsibility and those prone to allergies wore them to lesson their suffering. So as she passed by him, she wondered why the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

A shrill shriek escaped her lips, lingering into the night air as a hand grabbed her arm. Without even realizing it, her fist was already flying against the perpetrator, nailing him right in the nose. "O-oh!" She cried, covering her mouth in mortification. 'I just hit a cop.' She whimpered mentally when he hit the ground. This was awful, what if she got a record? Her life would be over.

"You…have a really good right hook." The guy groaned, rubbing his smarting nose through his mask. "You dropped your phone." He explained further, holding the simple black model out. At the very end of its charm strap hung a vibrant red, white and gold omamori, clearly labeling it as her own.

'How did that happen?' Sakura asked herself, reaching for it with a trembling hand. She was sure it'd been zipped up safe and sound inside her purse. Realizing she'd forgotten her manners, she quickly bowed deep in apologize. "I'm really very sorry." Her face was nearly as red as a cherry. "T-the weather must be getting to me." She explained lamely.

Even though he had silver hair, his face was very young. At least it seemed to be so from the very little she could see of it. "It's fine." He said, the one visible eye crinkling up into a crescent happily, she knew immediately that he must have been smiling beneath the white mask. "It's getting to be pretty dark, and the surroundings just make it even creepier." He mused looking up towards the looming cemetery hill as he stood and began brushing off his navy blue pants.

Instantly, a sharp stab of guilt went through her for being so freaked out by him mere moments before. He seemed perfectly nice, and normal. 'He's a police officer too.' She scolded herself. 'If you can't trust them, who can you trust?' At his words, she spared a brief glance towards the top of the hill, and admitted to herself that for the first time in years she was feeling apprehensive about being in a cemetery so close to dark all on her own.

As if sensing her discomfort, one lone, lazy grey eye studied her thoughtfully, before he cleared his throat. "Not to sound creepy, or give you the wrong impression, but if your worried I can stay with you." He explained.

"Oh!" Sakura startled, breaking free from her thoughts, before waving her hands nervously. "No, no. That's not necessary; I wouldn't want to trouble you." She explained quickly. "Besides, it's such a juvenile thing to be scared of the dark- but thank you anyways."

Sakura was never one to forget her manners when it counted.

He was silent for a moment, before nodding his head. "It wouldn't be any trouble mam', but if you're sure…" He trailed off doubtfully for a moment, before shrugging whatever he was thinking off. "Well have a nice night." He said, turning around and raising a hand in lazy farewell.

Although she had already turned her back to him, when she heard his good bye Sakura had turned, meaning to say the same only to find him already gone.

"Strange." She murmured to herself, wrapping her arm around her waist to ward off the sudden chill. He must have been in a large hurry to have disappeared so quickly. 'Well, no sense in lingering.' Sakura told herself, hurrying up the steps and past the gapping gate which hardly seemed to serve any purpose considering she'd never seen it closed once.

Her mother's stone monument was towards the very back where the lanterns light hardly reached, but she knew the way by heart even in the lack of light. Her steps were hurried and impatient as she moved along, cleaning and clearing the stone of grime and lighting the obligatory incense.

She wanted to be back on the railway before night fully set, and even though she kept repeating that to herself like a mantra somehow she managed to lose track of time regardless.

Already she was berating herself for being to proud to accept the police officers offer. 'What kind of idiot does that?' She asked herself venomously, before settling down to tell her mother how things were going in her life lately. It was the usual "_Sorry mom, no boyfriend yet, I got all A's this semester, and so and so's a real jerk. My boss is killing me, if I have to deal with one more overtime without pay speech I'm gonna explode" _Reel.

For a moment, as if she'd forgotten the uneasy feeling that had been plaguing her all day, Sakura finally felt at peace kneeling on the damp earth before that cold unfeeling stone. It was the riffling of clothing and foliage that finally snapped her out of her false sense of security.

Craning her neck to look in the direction of the sound, she saw a woman with long, dark black hair stumbling around in the dark a few yards away. The silky black strands obscured her face but her skin was pale and luminescent from what she could see. Watching the jerky uneven moments of the woman made her stomach churn. Despite that, the woman was attractive with large almond shaped eyes and a straight nicely proportioned nose- or what she could see of it.

The med student inside her was screaming that something wasn't right. 'Drunk maybe?' Sakura mused. Not knowing the answer, she did what any moral and upstanding citizen would have done. She made her way over and called out, trying to offer her assistance. "Miss, are you alright?" She called from a few feet away, still wary enough not to come to close to the stranger.

The woman looked up, her lower face obscured by a mask. Pale, Glassy blue eyes stared back at her. They were the color of a corpse's after the body had stopped producing melanin.

That was something she knew first hand considering she'd spent a fair bit of time dissecting cadavers. 'She could be blind.' She was quick to interrupt herself. Entertaining that sort of thought would only lead her to trouble.

A sinking feeling began gnawing at Sakura, this time much stronger then the ones she'd been feeling all day long. With a will of steel, she remained rooted where she was in an attempt to squash her inexplicable trepidation. 'If I run away now, how can I ever expect to be a good doctor?'

The woman was moving steadily closer until she was just a few feet away. "Am I beautiful?" She asked voice soft and lilting.

Already she wished she'd run away, wished she'd stuck close to the cop, and certainly wished she'd held off her visit even at the expense of tradition. Everything had been screaming at her since she'd left her apartment this morning that something was just not right. Instead of listening to her instincts she'd foolishly lulled herself into a false sense of security.

'Am I beautiful?' Sakura repeated numbly to herself, trying to figure out why the phrase seemed so familiar. Then, when her eyes traveled down the woman's arm to a pair of large sharp shears- like the plucking of a string, the memory sang back to her.

The _kuchisake-onna_- or split mouthed woman. Was the name Sakura knew her by. Older legends said she was the vain, but gorgeous wife of a ninja, who she had wronged. As a punishment he'd split her mouth from ear to ear all the while mocking her with the question "Who'll think you're beautiful now?".

In another version people said she was a woman raped, mutilated and eventually murdered by a gang. While her origins were always changing some facts never changed.

For one, it was neigh impossible to out run her.

If she answered no, she'd be killed, if she answered yes, she'd take the mask off and ask again. If her answer remained the same she'd be mutilated but get to keep her life. 'But of course that's all conjecture. ' Sakura thought to herself, green eyes flicking back and forth from the weapon to the woman's face.

Sweat was forming on her brow as her thoughts speed up. 'Some people say if you throw fruit or candy you'll have time to escape.' Of course she had none of that within reach, so it was useless information.

One more thing came to mind that she could do. It was said that if you could confuse her, you'd have long enough to escape.

Though she was entertaining these notion, in the back of her mind Sakura simply figured it was a deranged woman escaped from some sort of asylum emulating what she had once heard herself. How was she to know otherwise? Ghouls, ghosts, goblins and monsters—gods even, simply did not exsist to Haruno Sakura.

Tonight would put a swift end that blissful ignorance.

Swallowing thickly, Sakura nodded her head yes, and just as she did, the woman ripped the mask away to reveal a gapping chasm stretching from ear to ear. Having not expected it, Sakura clasped her hands to her mouth in horror. The action deftly silencing the small shrill cry that tried to escape. 'It's real? Is this really real?" Her shocked mind echoed repeatedly.

Although she'd seen plenty of horrendous wounds, even seen internal organs and held them in the palms of her hand as well as just about everything under the sun while preparing for her medical career, this was different. This wasn't natural. A person couldn't live, breath, walk and talk they way the phantom in front of her was doing at that very moment.

It wasn't possible.

This time, there was no finding a logical explanation for what she was seeing.

"Am I beautiful still?" The woman gurgled, blood spilling from her horrific wound, flowing from her mouth, down her neck to stain her once spotless white blouse. From ear to ear her gapping, drooling maw went giving one a clear view of the perfectly straight, would be white teeth inside.

"S-so-so." Sakura whimpered, flip flopping her wildly trembling hand back and forth to illustrate the statement. The statement seemed to confound the poor disfigured women, for her brows met in consternation and the gleaming scissors lowered just a fraction.

Taking that as a chance to escape, Sakura sprinted past her, making a straight shot into the woods that loomed just into the distance. 'How long do I have?' She asked herself numbly. How long would it be before that thing was running after her?

It was said you couldn't out run the _Kuchisake-Onna_, she could ran as fast as any car. 'It's also said that if she split your face open with her pretty little shears you'll become just like her.' The snark little voice in the back of her head warned. She was long past denying what she'd seen, though the shock of it had yet to wear off.

Like the beating of a drum, her heart grew louder, louder, and louder still. Hammering and rattling against its ivory cage.

It droned on and on, but still it was not enough to drown out an even more horrifying sound.

There, the sound of footsteps not far off behind her and quickly catching up.

Thinking quickly and half wild with instinct, Sakura veered off to the left sharply and nearly ran straight into an old collapsing tori gate. Hoping this was some kind of good luck omen- although she'd never believed in them before; she took a glance behind her to gauge the danger she was in.

Already through the dark foliage she could make out the face of her crazed hunter, and while Sakura was quickly running out of stamina, _she_was not and would very soon be in range.

Deciding that things couldn't get any worse, she stumbled up the steps, skinning her hands and knees clumsily as she went.

Flying straight down the path like an arrow, she went beyond the purification trowel without stopping, beyond the guardian foxes, and even went as far to toss herself haphazardly over the stone gate baring the entrance to the inner shrine.

It was a scared place, where no one except the holiest of holies was meant to enter. "If there are… such things as god's… I really hope I will be forgiven." Sakura whispered fervently in between grasping breaths. The last thing she needed was a pissed off god coming after her.

For a split second she clapped her hands together in front of her in prayer before continuing on.

"You can't get away!" The rip faced woman's voice was no longer soft, but shrill. Like the cry of a banshee heralding death. Its pitch was high and hoarse, beyond what should have been in her capabilities considering the state of her mouth.

Peering behind her into the darkness, she saw the dark form of her pursuer clamoring over the same stone fence- although with much more trouble then she herself had faced.

That was all the courage Sakura needed to continue on. Turning her back, she was faced with the final barrier to the shrines inner heart.

It was the place where the physical symbol of the god being worshipped was en-housed, the place where its power was supposedly at its greatest.

In her mind, it was also the safest.

Staring at the mottled and torn shoji screens, she wondered if perhaps she might rethink that assumption. If there had been a god here, it hadn't been cared for in quite some time and had probably died. '_If _they can do that.' Sakura thought blearily, eye lids hanging low over her eyes.

All of a sudden her world was turning upside down and she didn't know what to think anymore.  
>What was real, what wasn't real? Science could no longer answer everything.<p>

It was like having the carpet ripped right out from under you.

'Well.' She corrected, sliding the doors open with force. "I know one thing." Her lips set into a grim line. "I don't want to die!"She all but screamed into the night, hands prying the doors open. she slipped inside and slammed the door shut just in time to block being stabbed with a pair of shears.

The thin wood bisecting the paper screens shook and rattled, splintering in some places before holding steadfast.

They would hold for now.

Quickly scrambling back, she hid behind the large altar circular hoping to put it between her and the enemy. The top of it was engraved with a thin line spiraling to the center. "This is it?" Sakura asked piteously, feeling her knees shake as she sunk down to the ground. She'd been hoping for something sharp and pointy, not some hunk of stone.

Instead she got a big piece of nothing.

Slumping over the altar for a moment, she took a deep breath, digging her nails into the smooth stone she was hiding behind. 'This sucks.' Sakura mused, quite aware of the understatement.

With her ear pressed up against the stone, she could just faintly hear something. 'Water?' Sakura mused, brow furrowing. "A well…" She said in realization, though it did her very little good. Peeking up from behind the stone, she took a look to see how her "_friend_" was fairing.

Although the _Kuchisake-onna _had all but torn it to pieces, she seemed almost stuck, but was very slowly but surely finding a way inside. "You…You…" she hissed digging the scissors into the ground as she used them to drag herself up.

"Yea me." Sakura replied back smartly, looking about as ferocious as a kitten with the way she was huddled in a corner. 'I'm too tired.' She admitted to herself at last.

To tired to run maybe, but not too tired to fight. Not yet.

The woman finally made a move, it was a deep forceful lunge right across the altar, and Sakura responded by waiting till the last second to grab the woman's elbows. A moment of struggle ensued and the blades were uncomfortably close to her face, but it interrupted the would be strike, and using all the strength she could muster to Sakura managed to shove her back.

It was enough to send the _Kuchisake-onna _tumbling right into the stone alter and sending a great crack through the archaic top.

Rolling to her side, Sakura sprung back to her feet and sprinted to the opposite wall, all the while keeping her eyes on the prone form lying on the well top.

A moment of tense anticipation passed, every single muscle in her body poised for the inevitable attack but then nothing happened, and all the tension she'd been feeling slowly drained away. "Is…it really over?" She asked herself, placing a hand to her forehead.

In retrospect, it was a stupid thing to say, because as soon as the words left her mouth she was grabbed by the hair and pinned against the cracking well top. Only snapping her head to the side saved her from having the left side of her face cut open. The blade made a shallow cut in her neck where the welling blood trickled down and dripped through the cracks before becoming wedged in the rock surface.

Grunting, the monster futilely tried to pull them out, her grip never wavering in the least.

"Why me?" Sakura screamed pushing the woman's head as far back as she could, her fingers digging into the woman's eyes. Her face wasn't getting any less creepy the longer Sakura looked at it.

The grip on her neck only tightened in response.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The_ Kuchisake-onna_ moaned, her pitch black hair was growing more and more haggard as the moments passed, while her skin grew blue and wan. It was the decomposition of a corpse, right before her eyes. Even the Fetid smell of a long past due corpse was finally permeating the air.

It really was such an awful way to go.

The inhumanly strong grip on Sakura's neck grew tighter like a nose, as finally the creature wrenched free its instrument of death.

The Glasgow grin on her face never changed, the cut muscles and tendons blaringly obvious even in the dim light. Fruitlessly clawing at the spirits hands, Sakura wondered what they would say about her when she was dead and gone.

She hardly had any friends, she had no family. They probably wouldn't even notice she was gone.

_The silver blade rose high up._

Was she going to be doomed to wander the night and slice open the faces of foolish wanderers? She really, really hoped not.

_Then like a falling star, the blade swiped down with a gleam.  
><em>

Sakura closed her eyes in defeat and all went silent, like the world had fallen away.

_One beat  
><em>

Two beats

Three beats passed.

She was still alive.

Then, the hand that had once clamped down on her neck like a vise was no longer there.

Unfortunately she couldn't say the same about the putrid smell, which had doubled in strength. Cautiously opening her eyes, she let out a startled gasp at the tanned hand that had wound it's way through the cracking alter to grasp the sharp bladed cutters mere inches from the side of her face.

The _kuchisake-onna _was howling up a storm, inconsolably using both hands to try and pry the blades from interloper's hands as she wept openly. "I have too. I have too." It moaned scraggly head shaking to and fro.

Sakura almost felt bad for her, but she quickly striked the thought.

"Don't you think it'd be rude to cut up such a pretty face?" A low voice spoke from underneath Sakura's back; the words were light and buoyant. As if the situation at hand was normal. From where she was laying she could literally feel the hot breath ghost against the nape of her neck.

"Shut up!" The corpse howled jaw stretching open as it's flesh lost its elasticity.

Feeling more then a little startled, and at the end of her wits Sakura lashed out once more drawing her knees in close before snapping them into the chest of her crazed attacker. The feeling of bones shattering and the smell of corpse was enough to make her want to thrown up.

The _kuchisake-onna _tumbled to the floor, limbs and thinning hair awry, this way and that.

Rolling onto her stomach, from the cracks in the stone, Sakura could see one vibrant blue eye peering up at her.

Like a cats, it was luminescent and gleamed up at her from the darkness.

Mischief, mayhem- those were the things she saw in them.

"Hello." The male all but purred- his eyes far to pleased to be regarded as anything but suspicious peering up at her.

"Who are you?" Sakura hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. If she could see a mirror at the moment, she would have looked positively ferocious. Eyes ablaze and hair askew, like an animal.

"Ne, shouldn't I be asking that?" He wondered jovially. "After all, you're the one in my shrine." He pointed out. Fingers sifting through her hair, he gently drew her in close, until her forehead was pressed against the cool stone. "If you want to live, you should really do as I say." He murmured, nose pressing against hers. "That spirit won't stay down long ya know."

The fight drained out of her then.

From the corner of her eye, Sakura could see that he was right. "W-what do I do?" She whispered quietly, nervously licking her lips. Although she had a feeling asking him that was akin to making a deal with the devil.

_She had not come all this way just to die. _Those were the words she repeatedly whispered to herself.

Those impossibly bright blue eyes seem to smolder, and the stone that had stubbornly clung together suddenly broke apart with a great blast of air. If it hadn't of been for him swiftly gripping her arms, she too would have been blown away. "I'll take my payment later." He breathed into her ear, sending strangely delightful shivers down her spine.

If she thought the night couldn't and wouldn't get any weirder, she was wrong.

The guy had whiskers. Or at least what looked like them, three on each side of his face to be exact. Of course when he finally stepped away, she got an eyeful. "Naked!" She screamed shrilly, reflexes driving her to punch him in the head. "Why aren't you wearing any clothes? Don't go grabbing women when y-your…N-n-n…" She couldn't even complete the statement as she turned her back to him.

Covering her face with her hands, Sakura once again asked herself what Sin she'd committed in her last life to deserve the kind of punishment she was being put through. Surely, she must have murdered some kind of saint.

The man whimpered and rubbed the growing lump at the top of his head. She hit pretty damn hard. Straightening up, he huffed, hands on his hips impertinently. "Well _sorry_." He scoffed. "Next time I'll leave you to be attacked while I get a wardrobe change- dattebayo." It wasn't his fault he was missing his clothes.

Stretching out his muscles, he took pleasure in the kinks and joints lessening and popping at he went.

"Next time?" Sakura parroted dimly. 'A next time?' No way, no how. It was not going to happen. This was going to end tonight. 'But what the hell's a datttebayo?' She thought.

The boy- no the man that had saved her was standing with his hands on his hips, foot tapping impatiently, as he waited for his opponent to ready herself. His unruly blonde hair was slightly shaggy, the front strands dangling a bit longer then the hair at the nape of his neck. Most notably though, were the large orange ears perking up from the top of his head.

Without meaning too, her eyes trailed down the slopes of his broad back and tapered waist before resting on his tail bone. Or rather just above it, because she was totally not admiring his-She avoided the thought like it was a venomous snake.

In addition to his animalistic features he apparently had a tail

"That would explain things…"She stated hesitantly, before nearly choking on her own spit. 'I was not just staring at his ass.' Sakura stated to herself firmly. She _wasn't_. The smirk he gave her on the other hand gave her the distinct impression he knew just as well as she did, that she in fact had been admiring it.

While he'd been teasing her with his eyes, the _kuchisake-onna _had taken a stab at him, startling him enough to break eye contact. "Being asleep for so long must have made me soft." He mused nonchalantly, pink tongue laving the slash marring his arm lazily. "Still, you'll hardly be a challenge." He chuckled darkly, eyes changing from fathomless blue to vermillion.

The air seemed to grow ten times heavier, and the blade wielding woman trembled, her face had lost any of the flesh it once had, all of it having rotted away leaving nothing but a fearsomely grinning skull beneath it.

The air had become thick and heavy, as though the gravity around them had increased. Sweating slightly, Sakura slowly backed away.

Somehow, even after being chased around through a cemetery, through a forest in the middle of the night by a woman with scissors didn't seem nearly as frightening as the feeling that was pouring off that blonde man in waves.

It was like a hand had reached inside her chest and was slowly contracting its grip around her heart.

Seeking relief, she turned tail and ran, never looking back and never stopping once.

Everything from that moment to the moment she was safely aboard the bus taking her home was a blur.

"What…what just happened?" Sakura asked herself, fingers threading through her hair shakily.. Dragging her hands down her face to cover her lips, she shook her head to herself, completely unaware of the strange looks she was receiving.

It was little wonder why, considering she looked like hell. Her clothes were torn and dirtied, covered in dust and cobwebs. Her knees and hands were skinned; her neck was bruised and bloodied.

Still, they choose to mind their own business, not wanting to bring trouble into their own lives outside what was necessary.

Leaning her head back, Sakura closed her eyes and wondered if things would ever be the same again. 'Maybe…this is all just a dream?' She asked herself, eyes opening to peer out into the darkness lurking outside her window.

The pain in her neck begged to differ.

When the train finally came to a stop, she stumbled off and out into the night, cursing as the rain poured down in earnest. 'This is officially the worst birthday yet.' She moaned to herself, teeth chattering as she walked briskly along. It was a wonder her legs could even support her at this point with how wobbly they were feeling.

Tomorrow they would burn like fire, but in that moment she couldn't feel a thing but the stinging rain.

Every now and then, her eyes darted down the dark streets, keeping as close to the light posts dotted along the street as she could. From where she was standing, the towering buildings seemed to blend in to the inky sky. To her the yellow lit windows seemed like eyes bearing down on her.

The walk to her apartment bulding took forever, but Sakura had never been so happy to see the number 307 in her life. That was until she realized her keys were still in her purse. In the cemetery.

"Shannaro!" Sakura screamed fists clenching as she placed a swift kick to the door knob. It was money down the drain, but she couldn't bring herself to care as she slipped inside and flipped every light she could find on.

After dead bolting and chaining the door shut, she realized she'd made it home safely.

It didn't matter that point if it was a dream, or if it had been reality.

It was over now- Or so she told herself when she collapsed into bed that night.

She was wrong.

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><p>I've been wanting to write this thing for like half a year, I just never had the time D: Narusaku is one of my favorite couples, but to be honest there are not many good stories featuring them.<p>

This, this is the tribute of my luv for their love. Ohhohoho…Naked naru.

Not even Sakura can resist that.

Any who, there is gonna be a lot of Japanese mythology/folklore/ urban legends as you can see already. Actually, it wont just be Japanese, eventually there will be vampires and werewolves, and and…shadow people and all those totally awesome occult thingies.

It isn't going to get any better guys…well it does_ if_ you like that stuff.

Writing about the split mouthed woman is scary. I made the mistake of looking at her pics in google and scared the hell out of myself at 12:00 Am. (don't do it guys!) For someone who likes the supernatural I'm a wimp.

There are a lot of claimed sightings of her in Japan, in different area's her aspects are different, but they also share a lot of similarities as most urban legends and myths tend to do.

Hope you're all enjoying this wherever you are, and props for getting it out in October! If we're lucky I might have chapter two up for Halloween (prolly not- _but _you can give me incentive)

An interesting note on Shannaro, it can have a couple different meanings depending on the context. In this cause she's basically saying " You got to be kidding me!"  
><em><br>_Oh yeh, title is after a chess move.

_Thanks for reading!  
><em>


	2. To Meet Again

Disclaimer: Oh lord, I do not own it, so please don't stir-fry me in a wok, or simmer me in a stock.

Amen.

Not a very scary chapter- plot kinda got in the way, but hey….I make up for it in the end though …methinks. Thanks to Katarin Kishika and 7th creature for their listening to me spout random things.

Recommended reading is still ¾'s. Its good like that, trust me. Ubetad version so it's all my crappy writing. Sorry- but unless you wanna beta for me...it can't be helped.

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><p><strong>Queen's Gambit<strong>  
><em><strong>By Tsukiko Hoshino<strong>_

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><p><em>Thinking about the same things, we might have been bound together by a red thread.<br>We fit so well together, like if it was decided by chance right from the start.  
>I believe we were fated to be together.<br>- IF ( Kana Nishino)_

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><p>That night there were no peaceful dreams and no blissful black void that rushed to meet her when she collapsed numbly into bed.<p>

She dreamed of running through an endless forest, towards a dim light glowing in the distance. No matter how fast or far she ran though, she could never reach it. Stumbling through brush and bramble she went. Whatever chased after her was one step behind her the whole way.

Even so no matter what she could not look. If she did there would be no more running- no escape.

Sometimes its fingers would scrape against the cloth of her back, a clear sign of danger.

_"I'm Close. I'm gaining…I will get you. " _The threat was unspoken but all the same it touched every nerve in her body in the most prickly of ways.

Finally when she could run no more it took her tumbling to the ground, body twisting uncomfortably by instinct her eyes caught sight of the one who hunted her. What she saw froze every muscle in her body with terror.

It was her face leering down at her, mouth split open garishly from ear to ear. Blood drooled from that lose and open maw with a long, limp tongue fell lax from the side of her mouth.

Fingers caught her throat, slick and cold like a fish. With that one hand it held her in place.

Words were lost to her as she stared forward, trembling. The hand at her wind pipe slowly squeezed the very life from her. Seconds passed and like a video being speed forward, the phantom's skin began to rot away. Flesh melted revealing muscle and tendon before that too peel fell away revealing the white beneath it.

Her own eyes oozed out of their sockets sloping down her face, and for a moment Sakura swore she could smell the stench of death in the air. She wanted to scream, to cry, to do anything really, but she couldn't move. Sharp bone fingers dug and gauged in to her neck with ferocity. With one hand it held her at bay, raising a pair of shears into the air.

The jaw's of that cheerfully grinning death's head clanked open, bone shuddering against bone.

Her heart seized painfully as the metal of the scissors glinted devilishly.

And then it came, a horrendous wailing erupted from the phantasm's throat, just as the blade came down to pierce flesh.

With a start she was all at once back in her own bed, dazed and covered with a cold sweat. The scream that had erupted from her dead counterpart's maw was in fact only her alarm clock, but she took no notice of that. Instead, as if to check its condition, her hands flew franticly over her face. Her eyes, nose, and then her lips came to pass all in place.

When her hands came to her throat however, they woke fire in their wake. Hardly even thinking, she stumbled from her bed, tangling and tumbling to the floor in her haste. Kicking and clawing at the covers wrapped around her legs, she was soon back on her feet and sprinting straight to the closest mirror.

The image that met her eyes told her no lies. Around the base of her neck were the distinct imprints of fingers in black and blue. Proof that something, _some __**thing **_had had her by the neck.

Feeling her knees wobble, Sakura gripped the edge of her sink with white knuckles, leaning heavily against the surface. Looking back into the mirror, she stared into her own eyes. They were ringed with heavy dark circles that spoke volumes to the sort of night she'd had. "It was real?" she murmured breathlessly. The confusion that first waking came with was quickly fading and leaving her to face reality.

One by one memories of her fright filled birthday came drifting back to her.

The kuchisake-onna.

Her near brush with death.

The man in the well.

It left her feeling woozy and lost even as her alarm clock continued blaring its chorus for the entire world to hear. Closing her eyes and taking a few deep, calming breaths, she opened them again. Green eyes studied her visage, particularly her throat. With an analytic finger, she prodded at the black and blue marks dotting her neck, only to end up cursing her self when all it did was inflict more pain.

A thin slice just below her jaw was red and swollen, crusted with dried blood and dirt. It was a minor infection she knew, easily treated with over the counter medication and proper cleaning. Normally she would have immediately cleaned such a thing, but the shock she was in the night before had sent her straight to bed in a stunned daze.

Those marks however, were all the proof she needed. All of it had been more then a dream. She knew it, yet still she could not completely conceive how such a thing could be possible.

None of that mattered though. It was what it was, she couldn't change reality. Instead, Sakura steeled herself, tilting her head up high. She'd gotten away. She was safe and sound. A little dinged up- for sure, a little shell shocked- maybe. But alive none the less, and that was what mattered.

The world could throw what it wanted at her. It could rip the carpet right out from under her feet and roll her up in it. As long as she was breathing, she'd find her way back to her feet. Resilience was something she'd been born with.

After all, while the flower she was named for may have been delicate and short lived, they also held a persistent resilience all their own. Those delicate blooms returned year after year, each time more dazzling then the last. In that manner she was just like them.

Just like that, the rest of the world rushed to meet her, The next door neighbor was pounding on the paper thin walls and shouting for her to turn her damn alarm clock off. "Crap." Sakura hissed, wondering how much time she'd wasted pulling herself together. Rushing to turn off the siren she threw herself wholeheartedly into getting ready for work.

She couldn't afford to be late by even a minute.

After her morning routine, she took great care in cleaning and bandaging the finger prints at her neck. If anyone were to get a good look at them awkward explanations would ensue. She could hardly explain what happened to herself, much less to anyone else. When she was done and dressed, she made her way to living room.

Glancing at her crumpled and blood stained coat she left it laying where it was on the coffee table. Work was just around the block, she'd be fine without it. Instead she began looking around in search of her purse.

It took her a moment to remember she'd left it in a graveyard. "Idiot." She seethed to herself, rubbing her tense forehead.

It had everything in it. Keys, Personal information, money, even her cell phone. 'I don't have time to go after it right now.' She thought, halfheartedly. In truth even if she did have the time, she wasn't sure she would go looking for it. Not after last night for sure.

For now, she'd just go to work and try to forget about it. She'd think of what to do a little later. Feeling rather confident she unlatched the door, and slammed her head against it as she took in the damage she'd done to it the night before. "Oh…" She sighed to herself, before making her way down the stairs.

She'd have to stop by the land lord's place before heading to work.

Umino Iruka wasn't a bad land lord to say the least. He was a good man, polite, empathetic, and helpful. He often went out of his way to help her out. Last year when she'd gotten the flu he'd helped taken care of her.

That's what made displeasing him so painful. It made you feel like dirt when he gave you that "_I'm totally disappointed in you right now, but I won't say it out loud." _Look. She'd only been on the receiving end of that gaze once before and it'd been due to a complete misunderstanding.

Although she wasn't looking forward to being on the end of it again, she didn't have much of a choice.  
>Honor for one, dictate she own up to her mistake, and necessity decreed she inform him in the event someone decided to break into her undefended home.<p>

Swallowing heavily, she came to a stop before the door and raised her hand to knock, only for it to swing open. "Oh, Sakura!" The middle aged land lord smiled cheerfully one second, and the next he was frowning. "You don't look so good." And that was saying things kindly.

She looked like someone had dragged her through hell and back.

"Oh?" Sakura remarked mirthlessly. "Well it was a long night…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "Umm…" She fidgeted slightly, before toughening up. It was best to do it fast and just be over with it. "I broke my door's lock." She said at last, looking quite regretful- Like a child about to be put into time out. "I lost my keys, my purse, and everything in it last night and I didn't want to bother you." She just hoped he didn't ask how.

The look in her eyes was different then he ever remembered seeing. "Its okay, I'll fix it right away." Iruka smiled, patting her on the head. "How'd you lose it though? You're normally so steadfast…" He mused, thumbing his chin thoughtfully. It wasn't like her to lose anything.

'I guess I expected too little.' Sakura sighed, lowering her gaze to the floor as the she spouted out the first thing that came to mind. "I was mugged." She'd be regretting that later.

"What?" Iruka's eyes bulged as he grabbed her by the shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked, moving her around erratically to get a good look at her. "Did you call the police?, did you see the person's face, where they went? They…they didn't do anything uh-weird did they?" He suddenly seemed so pale and wane she feared he'd pass out.

"Oh no!" Sakura shook her head, holding her hands up calmly. "I'm fine…I didn't call the police, and I didn't see anyone's face and no…nothing w-weird was done to me." A dusky blush burned her face. She really didn't want to discuss something like that with him.

Although that it was actually debatable, though nothing _weird_in the manner he was thinking had happened, but some decidedly strange things had gone down the night before.

but, she certainly could say that an urban legend had chased her through the woods to an old abandoned shrine where a fox boy had leapt out of a well and saved her life though, now could she?

Iruka looked relieved, color flooding back to his face in a rush. "Oh good….but you really should have reported it to the police." He chided gently.

Sakura nodded her green eyes looking anywhere but at him. "I just wanted to forget it ever even happened. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused." She added, bowing slightly.

"Don't worry about it." The kindly landlord dismissed, glancing at his own wrist watch. "Uh oh…" He tsked, shooing her off. "You're gonna be late if you don't hurry." In some way he felt more like a parent to his tenants then the property owner at times. He especially worried about Sakura though.

She'd lived all on her own since she was 16, and had resided at an orphanage before that. It astounded him, considering how sweet and hardworking she was. Any parent would have been happy to have her. Always garnering high grades and performance, she was constantly at the top of her classes.

'Must be lonely though...' He thought sadly, knowing that losing ones parents was hard enough, but never even getting to know them had to be even worse- especially when you were almost always all on your own.

"Ah, right!" Sakura yelped, waving him farewell as she sprinted out of the building.

"Well…" Iruka mused, looking after her in contemplation. Despite being by herself, she was a good girl, with a bright future ahead of her. He was more then happy to help in anyway he could. Scratching his scalp, and tightening his bandana he set out to pick up some hardware and fix that broken door.

Outside, it was cold, and the sweater she wore did little to ward it off. So Sakura skittered across the sidewalk as quick as possible, reaching her destination in a record of ten minutes.

Maybe it was loud and crowded, maybe there were a lot of troubles that came with living in the city, but it also had its perks.

There was plenty of entertainment for those who had the time and the money. You could easily locate just about anything you needed or wanted at the numerous shops.

The city had all sorts of interesting restaurants, from just about every major nationality in the world. Nearly anything you could desire, it could dish up for you. She had the pleasure of working at a Chinese eatery. It was a bit unbearable at times because of all the tantalizing sights and scents. To say the least dining out was not in her budgets, and while her employment there offered her a discount she was a penny pincher through and through.

She barely made ends meet by living off ramen and thrifty shopping despite her numerous jobs.

The doors to _The Lucky Noodle_jingled as she pushed her way through. Already in the early morning delicious smells were drifting out of the kitchen. It made her hungry. 'Ah…I should have eaten breakfast.' Sakura bemoaned, wondering what else would go haywire this week.

Moving to the backroom, she quickly punched in, before continuing on to the locker room to change clothes. Thankfully, she was the first to arrive, so she was able to slip into her cream colored qipao without any awkward questions about her bandages. The collar was just high enough to hide them.

Golden embroidered flowers emblazed across the creamy silk, turning red and gold like autumn leaves as they traveled down the dress. It was long, but the slit went high up her legs, ending just before her the top of her thighs. To keep from showing to much leg they were allowed to wear thigh high stockings.

Though to be honest she was pretty sure that was only because it heightened the sex appeal. A pretty girl in enticing- but not to revealing clothes was good for business. Although it didn't exactly appeal to her sensibilities, she couldn't argue with it. Sighing, she rolled the black nylons up her legs before pulling on the matching gold slippers. "It pays well." Sakura admitted, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she coiled and clipped it in place with a pair of chopsticks.

"Isn't that the truth?"

The voice had her jumping right out of her seat with a frightful shriek. Quickly she scooted back until her shoulders slammed against the row of metal lockers with a clang. Wide green eyes flew up frightfully to meet brown one's covered with even darker brown fringe. "Don't do that Tenten!" She snapped rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"Sorry, geez…You look like you were expecting the boogey man to jump out and grab you- or something." Tenten said, a frown twisting her lips. "And look at the bags under your eyes!" She cried, leaning in close to the other woman's face. "Sheesh you look like you've been dragged through hell." After saying this she squished the pink haired girl's face between the palms of her hand worriedly.

It was a little blunt, but it was the sort of thing you could expect from her.

Sakura declined to comment on the boogey man tidbit. "It was a long night?" It came out as more of a question then the statement she would have liked. Apparently whatever she said had displeased the woman turning her head from side to side curiously, because she was suddenly pinching and pulling her cheeks roughly.

"That's right!" Tenten huffed, shaking her head angrily. "I tried calling and texting you all last night! You never replied, what's the big idea?" She scowled. "I wanted to take you out for a birthday dinner….you had me all worried."

A well aimed stab of guilt struck Sakura, because just the other night she'd been moaning about how no one would miss her if she died- yet here Tenten was, and the worry in her eyes was as she spoke was apparent.

Not only that, but she had also wanted to spend time with her on her birthday. They were friendly with one another for sure, but it seemed like something…friends would do together. It was a little surprising for her.

In her youth, she'd been conditioned by the attitudes of other children to keep her distance because of that, it was often hard for her to make close connections with those around her. When she did though, she treasured them more then anything.

That's what made the lie she was about to concoct all the more painstaking for her. Smiling weakly, Sakura lowered her eyes. "Sorry I didn't get the message…I lost my phone last night." She explained worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. "I got mugged." She had to stay consistent.

A sharp gasp erupted from Tenten's mouth, as she began shaking the girl's head between her hands. "Are you okay!"

Sakura would have been if it weren't for the dizzy spell washing over her. "I am…but I won't be if you don't stop that!"

Tenten smiled sheepishly, dropping her hands. "Sorry, got carried away there. But seriously, that's why you should go places all on your own." She chastised, crossing her arms. "Pepper spray is only good if you can get to it." She exclaimed, whipping out a large wicked looking pocket knife from her jean pocket "That's why I always carry one of these babies's! And I know how to use it too." She stated happily, flipping it open to reveal the shiny blade with the skilled flick of her wrist.

'Tenten…your kinda scary sometimes.' Sakura shuddered, Feeling a little uncomfortable at the sharp blade being pointed in her direction, She used a finger to carefully slide it to the left. "Right…In any case, I've lost everything….Sorry for the trouble."

"Aww, geez!" Tenten sighed in exasperation, shaking her head with hands on her hips. "That's your problem; you're just to damn polite sometimes. Don't apologize after you got mugged dummy." The gentle smile on her face obliterated any sting her words might have had. "What exactly happened anyways?"

After a careful explanation omitting any strange supernatural occurrences, Sakura carefully told her that when visiting her mother's grave the other night some weird man had attacked her and chased her around the graveyard before running off in the dark. After that she'd noticed her purse had been missing but was lucky in the fact she'd left her bus pass in her pocket.

Half truths weren't as hard as full on lies.

"Well, could have been worse." Tenten mused, pulling her dress over her head. "Ah! Your omamori…" She realized, snapping her finger. "That's too bad, it really suited you- and it was lucky too!" She would know, considering she'd been the one to give it to her. "Well, I can just get you another." She did live and work as a Priestess part-time after all.

"Sorry for the trouble." Sakura murmured, the guilt only growing. 'I hate lying.'

Tenten just smiled. "No worries. As a matter of fact, let's head up to Nagano after work. We'll see if maybe he left your purse behind after all. Then we can go to dinner." She congratulated herself on such a good idea.

Sakura didn't seem too enthused though, as she visibly flinched.

"Eh, don't be scared!" Tenten laughed, patting her on the shoulder comfortingly. "Since we'll be together so it'll be fine."

It'd be rude to refuse, and she really needed her things back anyways. As much as the thought of returning to that place made her want to curl in a corner and shake in fear, she had to go- for numerous reasons. The most important being she wanted her damn purse back.

She couldn't let one little instance ruin her whole life. "Right…" She mumbled, getting to her feet just as the rest of the staff started to pour in. "Well, let's get to it." Sakura said, sparing an upbeat smile for Tenten as she exited out the doors to start the day.

The rest of the day passed blessedly free of anymore haphazard's but the closer the clock ticked towards quitting time the more on edge she became, looking over her shoulder at every turn for some mysterious assailant.

By the time her shift had ended the sun was sitting low on the horizon, slinking ever further from sight- taking the light with it.

"Are you alright?" Tenten asked upon exiting the building just behind her. "You're so jumpy today…It's not like you at all." She said, putting a hand on her friends shoulder. 'You seem different too.' She thought to herself.

Once more Sakura was touched by this kindness and her lips curved into a heartfelt smile. "I'm fine." She said and Tenten smiled in turn.

"Alright then, I'll take your word for it." Tenten stated happily, setting off towards the train station.

Feeling more enthused then she had the whole day, Sakura hurried to catch up. They filled the walk with talk of everyday things- what she wanted to eat, how her progress towards her internship was going, and Tenten with talk of her Priestess duties.

It was fun, learning more about another person's interests and finding what they had in common.

In the past, she wouldn't have given much thought to such a thing, but after last night Sakura wondered if that perhaps by being more informed she'd be safer in the event that such an occasion would arise once more. 'God I hope not.' A shudder ran the length of her spine. Or maybe the truth was, she wanted to tell someone the truth of what had happened to her.

Tenten was a priestess, so that made her the most logical choice right? She had to believe in those sorts of things. She had to believe her. Or rather Sakura hoped she would, and wouldn't think she was crazy.

On the other hand, while she wanted to ask she couldn't quite find the words, or wording to do so. Instead she settled for easing herself into it slowly.

"Hey Tenten?" Sakura began, after an hour of their trip had passed.

"Hmm?" The brunette wondered lazily- nearly half asleep and using the pink haired girls shoulder as a pillow.

It was nice knowing that someone felt comfortable enough to lean on her like that, Sakura supposed, fingers fidgeting with the cloth of her shirt. "You're a priestess, right?" of course she was. "So you must believe in things…" She groped for the words that would suit her needs but found none. 'Believe in what? Gods, Monsters, legends?' all of them would work, but to her they all sounded strange and foreign.

Groggy brown eyes looked up at her behind heavy lids. "Ghosts and goblins?" she laughed a bit. "I guess it comes with the territory, doesn't it?" She wondered closing her eyes.

"I can't say I believe in all the weird stuff people's heads come up with, but some it, yea. I guess I do. I think that in this world, there is more then our eyes alone can see, "Tenten's face tensed just a bit. "What we think we know, might not exactly be so." What she meant by that Sakura had no clue, and before she could ask, Tenten was already continuing to speak.

"You know why I like you so much?" The priestess said, covering her yawning mouth with a hand.

Sakura arched a brow. "It's honestly a complete mystery to me. But I'll take a guess… is it my charming personality?" A wry grin marked her sarcasm.

"Actually that's exactly it." Tenten grinned. "Do you remember when we first started working together?"

"Vaguely." Sakura stated, brows furrowing. She'd been so busy with studying back then she'd basically been running on autopilot the rest of the time.

Tenten shook her head in exasperation. "Well anyways, a week or so after I took a part time job at the restaurant a couple of the girls found out my other job as a priestess and decided to poke fun at me thinking I was some religious nut job or something. They were always asking for palm readings, Ofuda and weird things like that." She paused for a moment before continuing.

"If they'd asked for an exorcism I probably would have given them one. Heaven knows they needed one." She mumbled, earning a laugh from Sakura. "Anyways, you were sitting in the corner of the break room reading some big book, when without even looking up you said something surprisingly cool." Tenten said pulling her head off Sakura's shoulder. "Something along the lines of; _whether you believe gods to be real or not, when a person has faith in something, it gives it a power all its own_."

"To me, that's very true. After that, you went on to scold them for being such brats. I just though it was really cool of you." She said at last. "Since I was little, I've been treated weirdly by a lot of people because of my position. For you to act like that- I immediately liked you. Its just it's always sort of hard to get close to you. You're kind of…Distant at times." Tenten explained nervously- hoping not to sound offensive.

"Yea." Sakura agreed guiltily. "I get that a lot." She explained with a weak smile. In her heart at that moment, she realized just how alike she and Tenten were. She'd been picked on for her looks, Tenten for her family's beliefs. "I didn't have a lot of friends when I was younger." She explained, waving her hand. "So unconsciously come off that way."

Tenten nodded understandingly. "Well, its fine." She grinned. "We'll just have to break you out of that habit, ne?" They smiled and laughed quietly together before slipping onto a few moments of companionable silence.

"Scientifically it has been proven that prayer can in fact impact a person recovery and health." Sakura said randomly after a moment had passed.

"Is that so?" Tenten asked more to herself as the train began rolling to a stop. "Already here?" Time certain flied when you were having fun.

Sakura exited ahead of her, becoming separated by the pushing and shoving masses as they unloaded. Just as Tenten was making her way out of the train as well her cell phone rang.

"Eh?" The ox-tailed girl said eloquently when she answered the phone. From right besides the exit Sakura could vaguely hear the panicked voices calling out over the line. "Can't you handle them alone? I'm a bit busy…" Tenten frowned, sparing an apologetic glance towards her companion. A few more words were hashed between her and the mysterious caller before she sighed. "Alright fine. I'll be there in a bit." She snapped the phone shut.

Tenten cleared her throat and gave Sakura the most apologetic look she could muster. "I'm really sorry there's a bit of an emergency…I've got to head back. Since you're here already you should take a look around- but be careful!" She warned, jabbing a finger at her. "Don't talk to strangers- Okay okay!" She snapped to the conductor yelling at her to get off or move away from the doors.

Already the tram was reloading; preparing to continue its drop offs and then return to its home station.

Sakura did her best to avoid being trampled on by busy business men and women rushing around her.

"You work at the book store tomorrow right? Let's have lunch!" Tenten cried as the doors separated her and Sakura with a _woosh_.

'Oh no.' Sakura whimpered mentally as the train doors started shutting "W-wait!- Take me with you!" She shrieked, earning strange looks as the train began slowly moving up the track to its next destination. 'shit, shit, shit.' Her mind moaned that mantra franticly.

No amount of calling would bring it back, and she was there. Rubbing her aching head Sakura let out a frustrated growl. "Figures. Just great…" She mumbled to herself, before sparing a moment to wish that everything was alright with Tenten. She'd been nice enough to come all this way with her in hopes of getting her things back- and she was here now. Alone- but still- no sense in wasting the trip.

Sometimes she hated how damn sensible she was.

You'd think it'd be a good thing, but lately it seemed to only lead her into trouble. With a deep breath, Sakura sucked it up, and made her way towards the graveyard she hadn't wanted to see for a good long time.

'Please, please, please let things be normal.' She begged whatever deities were listening as she briskly made the ten minute walk to the graveyard.

When she reached her destination she stood at the bottom of the steps for a good long while, apprehension washing over her whole body. "Alright, that's it!" She snapped, stomping her feet as she marched right up the steps. "I've had enough!" She turned her fear into courage, feeding it with righteous anger.

Even the every present aching behind her eyes was whisked away as her resolve turned to stone.

It just wasn't fair at all. She'd been living perfectly safe and happy for twenty two- no twenty three years and all of a sudden someone decided to throw some crazy shit at her just to watch her dance. Well fuck that. She couldn't live her life looking over her shoulder in fear of some crazy, unexplainable crap jumping out at her.

Right?

Right.

"Shannaro!" Sakura screamed into the night as she struck a fighting position at the top of the steps- right beyond the hulking cemetery gate. She stood poised on one leg, the other tucked up high with her arms arched in the air. She stood there like that for a few moments looking like an idiot for the entire world to see before she relaxed. Clearing her throat nervously, she rolled her shoulder. 'See, easy. No crazy maniacs, just you and a bunch of dead people.'

That didn't sound as comforting as she thought it would.

'Stop being a pansy.' Sakura snapped, mentally slapping herself as she tip-toed through the graveyard. For all the pep talking she'd given herself she was still a little on edge about everything.

Oh but the sometimes cruel gods smiled upon her, for there her purse sat- exactly where she'd left it in her mad dash the night before. Finally, something was going right. "Whew." Sakura grinned eagerly as she snatched it up and hugged it to her chest. It was a little soggy and made staying warm a little harder, but what the hell, She was a in a good mood.

With her prize in hand, she whirled around to leave, pausing only for a moment to glance back at her mother's grave. "Sorry for last night mom." She murmured quietly, before squashing down anymore guilty feelings that might try to work their way towards ensnaring her. "See ya."

Her mom would understand after all.

Turning back around to start picking her way towards the exit, she caught sight of a dim light shining beyond the tree line. Curiosity gnawed at her before Sakura beat it down with a stick like a kid with a piñata. "Hell no." She said quite simply.

Sakura was not going into any forests anytime soon. She was marching her ass straight back to the train station and straight home and damn anybody who got in the way of that. Turning her head away from the light ferociously, she made her way out of the graveyard.

Unexpectedly she ran right into the chest of an elderly man. "S-sorry." Sakura mumbled, bowing respectfully. Her nose ached a little from where she'd hit it on him.

"Oh it's fine young miss." The man stated, waving his hand dismissively. "It's dark and quite hard to see."

"Ah yes." She agreed, slowly raising her eyes to meet his, only to find none. Nor was there a mouth, or a nose, or anything that a face consisted of. It was completely smooth just like an egg. "…." It took her a second and a half before she promptly ran back up the steps screaming at the top of her lungs "No face!"

The man just cocked his head to the side and shrugged his shoulders. "How rude." And promptly went on his way.

Sakura ended up crouching behind a headstone hyperventilating. 'Oh god, what if it comes after me?' She wasn't sure she could handle another chase down like the other night. The very though had her feeling like she was on the verge of a mental break down.

She wished she had a paper bag, "Oh man…Oh man." She huffed, hands fisting into her hair. This could not be happening again.

What the hell was up with her luck lately?

Popping her head out just beyond the top of the stone, she looked around nervously, until her eyes caught sight of a young man with his back to her praying fastidiously to the grave in front of him.

She had to warn him.

"Psst!" Sakura hissed, hands cupped over to her mouth as she attempted to call out to him discreetly from her hiding spot. Realizing that he couldn't hear her she scowled, and slunk out creeping up to his silently. "Hey." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I know this sounds crazy, trust me I know it does, but there is some guy without a face running around up here. I…I think he might be dangerous." She whispered the last part.

The man's shoulders stiffened. "Dangerous?" He asked pausing in his prayers. "No face? Oh my, that's so frightening!" He said, whipping around quickly, to reveal a handsome face. "Do you think we should… go to the police?"

Something wasn't right, the voice in the back of her head said suspiciously. "Ah….I don't think they'd be quite so willing to believe me as you are." Sakura stated doubtful, eyeing everything around her in paranoia before glancing back at him.

"Quite right. Although I find it hard to believe anyone could distrust one with such a pretty face as yours…" The man mused, running a hand over his face. As he did so every feature was wiped away as his hand passed over them until his face was smooth and white as an eggshell. "I wonder….did he look like this?"

Sakura's jaw dropped open and quickly jumped back, holding her hands up as if to ward him off. "Stay away!" She snapped spitting mad, already her fists were up and ready for a fight.

The man cocked his head to the side. "But…I just want your face!" He cried, lunging for her with open arms.

Sakura ended up doing exactly what she said she wasn't going to do from the get go.

Run into the forest.

Why she did that she didn't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The dim light she'd seen in the distance grew and multiplied with each step.

They were lantern lights, glowing fiery orange in the pitch black night like stars. Above, sickle shaped moon grinned down at her from its low position in the sky. Straight forward she went, having no idea that by going down that path a second time she was heading straight towards her destiny.

Not once did Sakura look behind her, not once did she question the instinctual decision she'd made. She just went with it. It'd worked out well enough for her before, what reason did she have to doubt it this time?

When she came to the Tori gate, she stopped abruptly like she had the night before.

What had once been worn, cracked and peeling painted wood that's red color had faded to a dingy grey after many centuries of neglect was now bright red and glowing in the lantern light. "Impossible." Sakura whispered reaching out to touch the surface. She'd expected it to come away sticky and with wet paint- but it didn't. 'Just the night before this thing looked as if it was about to fall apart…' Looking up the steps breathlessly, she continued on, stopping at the top to look on with awe.

The wind swept through her hair, scattering pink tresses every which way as she stood looking the Shrine's courtyard over. Last night the whole place had hardly been standing- the stone's crumbling and cracking, timber and rice paper screens rotting away covered in mold and moss.

Tonight with the moon grinning down and bathing the scene before her it in its pale yellow glow combined with the brilliant, shining lanterns it looked as though she'd stepped into the past

Everything looked as it it had been well maintained from the very beginning. Paper lanterns strung high and banners streaming in the wind it looked on the cusp of a great celebration.

There was no electric hum here. No beeping cars, no humming motors, no whistling train, no throngs of people and the noise they brought with them. There was no light pollution that leeched the vivacity of the stars and the moon from the very sky and no smog to be smelt.

"Amazing." She whispered breathlessly, leaning her head against the great gate. Her eyes glimmering like jade in the dark. She never saw the shadow creeping until it was too late.

A hand slunk quietly around the thick trunk of the tori gate, coming to rest just above Sakura's head before coming to rest just inches away from touching her. "Isn't it?" An amused male voice purred close to her ear.

Whipping her head around her lips brushes against smooth skin, green eyes flew wide open, startled and completely unguarded for a moment.

He thought it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Even better was the tingling her lips left behind on his whiskered cheek. "How nice to see you again." He grinned eagerly. "I was thinking I'd have to chase you down."

"W-who do you think you are!" Sakura shrieked after a moment of stunned silence. He was way to close to her person. She slipped under his arm and used the opposite column of the gate as a shield.

"Me? I'm Uzumaki Naruto- dattebayo!" The blonde said energetically head swaying wildly as he introduced himself by jabbing his thumb towards his chest.

'That wasn't exactly what I meant…' Sakura sweat dropped, but it was an answer nonetheless. Taking a good look at him, she was relieved to note that he was finally wearing some clothes.

It was relatively simple attire consisting of a black hakama, and form fitting shirt overlaid by a deep red overcoat with black flames licking up the edges. Still it looked decidedly good on him. 'not to mention warm.' Sakura mused, shivering against the cold wood.

The little- very little part of her that was sad to see him so covered was promptly squished.

"Now, who, are you?" Naruto wondered, gazing at her with a strange emotion she couldn't name in his eyes. "It's rude for a savior not to know the name of the one he rescued." She was such a pretty thing, and gave off such a strange vibe. It was drawing him in like a bee to a flower.

Biting her lip, Sakura consented to his- he had after all saved her. "Sakura." She said simply.

"Huh?" The blonde cocked his head to the side, ears perking eagerly.

Sakura sighed, giving him an annoyed look. "My name. It's Haruno Sakura." She repeated leaning her cheek against the smooth wood.

His eyes, glowed like blue fire, and in a blur, he was right on the other side of her makeshift barrier, face to face with her. She could literally feel the heat pouring off him, he was so close. "Lovely." Naruto murmured, eyes peering into hers.

He didn't know what it was, couldn't place his finger on it, but everything about her had him on edge in the most delightful of ways. He loved the unexpected and this feeling was certainly that. Studying her pink tinting face, his gaze rested on her forehead. It was slightly large but he found it to be…charming.

Not exactly the most tactful of men, he found himself blurting his thoughts out. "Your forehead…" He trailed off, taking no notice of the way her form stiffened. "It's…it's so…" He couldn't even fathom a word to illustrate it.

A scowl crossed Sakura's face. "Giant? Disgusting? The size of a billboard? So big it has a gravitational pull of its own?" She'd heard it all. 'Figures this guys a jerk like the rest of them.'

Seeing her angry was strangely pleasing, he found himself wanting to study all her expressions.

"Bill…board?" The word was foreign to him, but he shrugged it off. "And no…definitely none of those things or anything like them." Naruto smiled, licking his lips. "No, I think…it's perfect." He said at last, taking delight in the way her green eyes widened as he leaned in close and pressed his lips to her forehead softly.

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><p>BA-BLAM! CLIFF HANGER YALL.<p>

I'm evil- deliciously so, Aren't i?

Happy Halloween.

Oh man…writing this chapter was the most ridiculous trial ever. For a week, my internet was down, so I basically didn't use the comp at all, I just planned it all in my head. I was finally able to use the web, and the day I sat down to start typing everything up the power went out for like a whole day. It was crazy. We had to walk around in the dark, and the heat was out and it was like snowing where I live!

The pizza guy we called up broke his car and everything. I feel so bad for that guy….

I was really worried about getting this out in time…I love Halloween. I'm a little sad that I couldn't make this chapter more spine tingling, but I guess not every single one can be scary. I do have a limited amount of space to work with and goals that have to be reached in each chapter after all. Next chapter though- for sure.

The monsters in this chapter were Noppera-bo. They delight in tag teaming unwitting travelers by one appearing before them with a normal face, then swiping it off to reveal nothing, then the scared traveler runs off to find some chump to tell his story too, only to be scared when that person turns out to be a noppera-bo too! ( Studio Ghibli's Pom Poko is kinda an example of this…Hehe except it's tanuki pretending to be Noppera-bo- Pretending to be people...)

Sometimes they steal people's faces or appear to people with a loved one's visage. Sometimes they're just totally random people. I think it'd be funny to scare a person like that though.

Oh yea. Tenten and Iruka make their entrees! I wonder who's next around the corner. For those of you wondering why I didn't have Ino in place of Tenten ( Also both Sakura and Tenten share similar Chinese influence. I thought it fit. Ah…I want some lotus seed steamed buns now.) , the answer to this my dear readers is a secret~ I wonder how many of you are trying to predict what's going on exactly…I'd love to hear everyone's ideas.

Naruto's a total heart throb in this chapter…I want to draw a picture of him with his clothing….I'll put it on my to-do list for sure.

Even better, while I was writing this, I was looking through some Narusaku Videos, and I was reminded of the filler episode where they were at that festival and were seeing ghosts, and I was like "Dude…What if…if one day in Konoha, on bon festival the spirits of the dead rose up and visited their loved ones. Wouldn't it be hilarious if Sakura and Naruto were plagued by well meaning ghosts trying to set them up together."

YES. YES IT WOULD BE HILARIOUS. Is what I _know _your thinking.

Great excuse for some Kushina/Sakura bonding time, and some outright hilarity. And thus another story was born on a cold October night. ( Sadly it won't be out until after halloween...probably.) Not to mention the one Katarin Kishika Inspired me to write about deliciously dramatic past life's versus reborn ones in which Naruto and Sakura are embroiled in some crazy…stuff.

Both are coming to a computer near you soon!

_To those who've reviewed, I salute you!_


	3. Stay a While

_Disclaimer: In my year long absence i did not suddenly acquire the rights to this shiz. FERSERIOUS._

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><p><strong>Queens Gambit<strong>_  
>By Tsukiko Hoshino<em>

_If that's what you want, then chase after me._  
><em>That kiss is a red tattoo-a tattoo that engraves a prophecy of destiny.<em>  
><em>-<strong>Moon Revenge (Sailor Moon)<strong>_

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><p>The shape of his lips against her skin burned, as though engraving itself in place- never to be wiped away. The very act of breathing arrested…frozen- for that one moment in time. Her trembling fingers sunk into the warm folds of his open coat. It was pathetic that something as innocent as a kiss to the forehead had made her whole heart tremble and her knees wobble so. 'Since when did I become so needy?' She wondered, face flushing, and mind reeling, even with her body frozen.<p>

It's cold and he's so close, and so warm she can feel it rolling off him in waves. More than anything she wanted to soak up the feeling, but propriety has already taken a major blow with the way he's taken liberties with her already, and she's not about to help him along.

It was the threading of his other hand through her hair that woke her up. Quickly, the hands that had once been savoring his warmth summoned strength and shoved away. "W-what do you think you're doing?!" Her face flushing from just pink to red, as her eyes sharpened like blades.

He wondered if she knew that her eyes are always changing. In fear, they are a dark color, weighed down by shadows- like some murky swamp, and moments ago when she'd first set sight on his home they'd been something light, crisp and cool. But now, set on him as they were, it was as though a fire had been lit behind them. 'How many shades of green can there possibly be?' Naruto wondered, his own blue eyes studying her own.

Smiling further, he inched a little closer. "Ne, Sakura-chan it was just a kiss. Besides, I couldn't help it." She'd just been too cute, and her forehead to appealing. Seeing the way her thin form shivered and leaned closer to his own when a particularly frigid wind hit them, he out right grinned. "Stubborn." He accused, words lacking spite.

"C'mon, you're cold." And just like that, he has her gathered in his arms, pressing his cheek to hers. "Humans should be more careful." He tsked, rubbing one hand against her back. They lost heat so easily and then became sick-many times dying from such simple things. With a sigh, he pressed his warm cheek to hers. 'That'd be bad.' He thought to himself.

Even now, he knew that she was something important to protect. She'd been the one to let him out after all 'But…there's more to it than that.' Naruto smiled at the way she seemed to melt against him, soaking up the warmth he gave so freely. Yes, there was more to it than that after all, although he was often called compassionate he was just as often-if not more so simply called wild.

That was_ if_- IF you wanted to put things mildly.

But it was more so that he simply did what he liked and what he didn't…well, woe to those who tried to inflict whatever it was upon him.

They usually ended up lamenting ever crossing his path, which suited him just fine.

With his face pressed to her own, she could feel the markings on his cheek pressed against her own. They were raised just slightly, like a long since healed cut- a darkly pigmented scar against his tan skin. Even though it only served to further prove that he was not normal, not even human for that matter. Even so, it doesn't keep her from savoring the warmth…even if just for a moment. 'Just for a little bit.' She reminds herself, feeling more and more foolish as seconds tick by and she does nothing.

It wasn't right longing to be held like this, by some stranger. Nor was it smart, and it was certainly stupid of her to get so worked up over someone saying they liked her forehead, or kissing it. 'And I'm getting carried away.' She realized huffing, even as she buried her face into his neck. With him so close she could hardly even think straight.

'He smells like the sea.' She mused, fingers knotting into his clothes. Not the bottled perfumes and sprays that claimed to smell like the beach or open seas. But like the real thing. All salty, and fresh winded- like the line dried clothes they used to have at the orphanage.

'That's enough!' Sakura panicked, wrenching herself away. "I'm going now!" she stated, adjusting the strap of her purse nervously, as she turned to walk away.

"Eh?" The left corner of his mouth ticked down as he pursed his lips. "So soon…and here I thought you came all the way up here to spend time with me." He pouted, trailing after her.

"I didn't come up here for something like that!" Sakura huffed, feeling as though her face would never return to its normal color. "I came back for my purse…but there were…" Her face paled. "There were those things, a-and they didn't have faces…"

There it was again, that murky color, like gray-green moss growing in some dark, dank, and slimy swamp where even the brightest light couldn't penetrate. He didn't like it, the look didn't belong on her face. Not when he was here with her. "You don't have to be scared." Naruto murmured, hands sliding along her arms. "They were probably just Noppera-bo', not very dangerous- just playful."

"I don't see them trying to steal your face." Sakura mumbled, looking at him suspiciously.

"They just say that, they never do." Naruto corrected, fingers reaching up to trace her cheek bone. "Besides, if they tried I'd have to kill them." The smile that he wore was in stark contrast to the words he spoke so easily. It was as though killing was like buying a chocolate bar.

Sakura couldn't help but balk at his easy going countenance towards ending the life of another living being. 'They are living, aren't they?' Or perhaps they were just ghosts. It made her wonder about what happened to the woman from the night before.. "Last night-…when I left…" She was hesitant to say run away, because really it sounded so cowardly. 'Even if that's exactly what happened.' Her inner voice snarked _oh _so helpfully. Ignoring it as she always did- because talking back to it would mean arguing with herself, Sakura went on. "What happened?"

"To the_ kuchisaki-onna_?" He asked, shrugging apathetically. "She's gone." He stated, waving his hand flippantly. "Hardly put up a fight, she was already dying the moment she past the tori." He explained, tapping the red enameled wood behind her head with a knuckle. "It was only sped up when she entered the inner shrine. She was either very dumb, or very desperate…probably both. They hate letting people get away. It hurts their pride."

Literally, lifting a finger had not been necessary. All it had taken was raising his Chakra microscopically to reduce the woman to dust.

"Oh." Sakura mumbled, biting her lip. She'd be lying if she said it wasn't a relief, but the situation was a bit disconcerting to say the least. With his sunny hair, blue eyes and wide smile, he didn't look dangerous. Even the way he held himself seemed open and unconcerned. 'I guess you really can't depend on how something looks.' She thought, eyeing him warily.

Naruto blinked, eyes softening. "Don't be scared. Not of me…not of anything." He amended, reaching out to stroke a strand of pale pink hair. "I won't let anything hurt you." He stated, smiling so brightly his eyes slid closed.

It was a smile that did a funny thing to her insides. Like honey half dissolved in a cup of tea. it heated her up as it trickled thickly down her throat to her stomach, filling each limb- each fiber of her being with warmth. Flushing once more she turned her head away. "I-I'm not." It didn't even sound convincing to her. More than anything she was scared of what his presence did to her, not so much what he could do to her.

Which was just as dangerous is what she'd felt last night was any indication. That dark aura he'd been pouring off had been far more frightening then the_ kuchisake-onna_. Even now it sent her heart into shuddering beats.

As though he knew something she didn't, Naruto smiled. "Mhmm." He hummed, unconvinced as he stepped forward. Just like in a dance, she quickly took two steps back, before her path was halted by the tori behind her. "If you weren't scared, you wouldn't do that." Naruto pointed out, fingers brushing against her breast bone as he leaned in close enough to brush his nose against her own. "Besides…I could hear this beating from all the way over there." He explained, cocking his head to the side.

The twitching of his pointed ears did not go unnoticed to her. Wetting her lips nervously, she found herself at a loss for words. "Umm…" She began, voice atremble. 'That's right…this guy isn't human.' She reminded herself, averting her eyes. Even though it was so hard, having to keep it in mind, her world wasn't the same as it had been the night before.

It was even harder thinking when his face was so close to hers, she could see how very blue his eyes were or even how nicely shaped his lips were, and how-'Whoa there.' She stopped abruptly. '_we _are not a hormonal teenager, so shut up!' She was all but screaming at herself. The whole situation was getting wildly out of hand.

Like some sort of cliché chick flick.

Placing her hands against his chest. "Umm…Anyways, I guess I should say thank you." Sakura stated biting her bottom lip anxiously. 'After all, how do you say thank you to someone who probably saved your life.? Just a simple thank you hardly seems adequate…'

Naruto grinned impishly. "You're welcome." He stated, swiftly pressing his lips to hers. He had just enough time to see the color of her eyes change to some bright hue. 'Green apples.' He clarified to himself, savoring the color, and the taste of her lips as his eyes slid closed.

Eyes wide open and completely surprised as she was at that moment, in the briefest of moments her eyes fluttered shut, and she leaned closer. That ever warm feeling he exuded was quickly passed on to herself. Like basking in the sun through the window, or laying out across warm sand at the beach. Just like those moments however, the lapse in judgement was fleeting. It was the quick teasing swipe of his tongue along her bottom lip that gave her a jolt. 'O-oh!' her panicked mind cried out, thrown into a frenzy as it quickly worked to regain control of the situation.

As for Naruto, he was of the mind that it was over far too soon for his liking and it left a burning behind that could not be soothed.

Or maybe that was from where she slapped him so hard he swore he saw stars.

"W-what was that?!" Sakura shrieked, face tinted red. 'That…that was the f-first one!' This guy had some nerve, she realized quickly, already storming away.

"It was a kiss." Naruto pouted, rubbing his stinging cheek. Humans had certainly changed. Or maybe it was just her. He was hard pressed to find a time in his long memory where a simple human had struck him. "You hit hard." he mumbled.

Sakura hissed, turning back to him briefly. "I know what it was idiot!" She stomped her foot. "You can't just go around kissing whoever you like!" She shouted clenching her fist. "That…that was the first one…" her heart thumped as a reminder that it had not exactly been unpleasant.

Naruto's right ear twitched. "First one?" he repeated, eye's bright and grinning wickedly. 'Worth it.' He decided right then and there. Selfishly, he never wanted there to be another one. "Sorry…?" No matter how hard he tried, it didn't sound sincere at all.

Seeing that self-satisfied look on his face only infuriated her further. 'Cocky bastard! You could at least look apologetic when saying it!' Sakura seethed, stomping away.

"Eh, wait!" He whined after her. "Stay a while longer!" Forever, preferably- but since his head still smarted just a little, he decided not to say that out loud.. "It can be dangerous out there- Dattebayo." His words went unheeded nonetheless..

"Thanks for the warning." Sakura snarled, disappearing through the tree line. 'but I think I'm in more danger here than anywhere else at this rate.' She huffed to herself. If she didn't get a hold of herself soon, she had the feeling she never would. With that in mind, she took off into a jog. If what he had said was true, then those guys without faces were going to regret ever picking on her.

Looking after her wistfully, he couldn't help but sigh. "Well…" His eyes gleamed brightly, as he plucked something off the ground. "One way or another, we'll meet again soon." He wasnt about to let her get away so easily. His mischievous smile nearly stretched from ear to ear as a low chuckle escaped him. Dangling between his finger was the strange box she'd left behind, hanging from it was a brightly colored omamori.

Studying the charm, he noticed that the power contained within it was once quite strong, but quickly waning. "Strange…" Naruto thought, brows furrowing. There was something about it, that he couldn't quite place a finger on. Tapping his foot idly, he tilted his head toward the moon. "Hmm…"

Omamori were not particularly strong, often holding just enough power to give a push in whatever their purpose was for. For example, if the omamori was written for luck in love, it's power could be used to force the targets into a brief situation. Like leaving a shoe untied and tripping into the object of one's desire.

This one though, was beyond just a little pushed that could be used up in only one turn. It was serious business.

Or rather it once was. The power inside of it was quickly waning. "It's maker must have really wanted to protect Sakura-chan." Naruto said, ever smiling face wiped away. "but from what…?" he asked the empty air, jerking his head to stare after the girl in question. 'Maybe it's too dangerous to let her go alone?" he was more than ready to bolt after her at the mere though.

The box in his hand started to quake though, quickly distracting him. "E-eh?!" He screamed, quickly dropping it. "Well…at least she's not around to hear you scream like a little girl." Naruto grumbled to himself as he cautiously crept closer to the box. "is there a god inside?" He asked, poking at its shiny outsides.

There was no answer as it continued buzzing, moving slightly across the ground.

"Hey aren't you gonna answer me?!" He snarled, taking an instant disliking to whatever, or whoever the damn thing was. "What do you know about Sakura-chan!? Naruto swiped it off the ground, prying at its sides as if looking for an opening. "Don't be so rude to me… You're in my territory after all!" not even shaking it was getting a rise out of the god inside.

Nothing drove him crazy more than being ignored.

It took him hours to finally figure out that it wasn't going to answer him...Especially after he threw it against a wall.

* * *

><p>Sagging against the wall of the subway station, Sakura buried her face in her hands. 'What just happened?' It was really a stupid, <em>stupid<em>question to be asking. She'd been kissed twice now, by a guy. A supernatural, probably highly dangerous guy- who just so happened to have a ridiculous name. Who also happened to be really good looking.

'Naruto. Isn't that a fish cake?' With a a spiral or something on it-looks like a whirlpool.' She though, shaking her head. 'Sleep.' She decided quickly, nearly hurling herself off the wall when the car came in. 'We need to go home, sleep and forget about all this nonsense.'

The long ride home gave her plenty of time to replay the events in her head over and over again. The people surrounding her probably thought that Sakura had some sort of condition with the way her face ranged from bright red to white in the span of a few embaressment was fastly becoming a new trend for her.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mind off of him. The boy from the well. 'Naruto…' She wondered why he was there,how soft his ears were, because she already knew his hair was downy- and at that point she'd slammed her head against the pole in front of her in frustration.

The walk back to her apartment wasn't much better, because when she came across a particularly vibrant neon blue sign she couldn't help but compare it to the color of his eyes, after which she got so flustered, she almost walked into an oncoming car.

If it hadn't been for the hand grasping her arm she'd be a pancake. 'Damn you Naruto!' If he hadn't of kissed her everything would be fine. She'd be acting normal instead of like a total ditz. "T-thank you." Sakura mumbled, embarrassment shining through as she turned to face her savior.

Her very, _very _handsome life saver. Slightly tanned, with dark hair and eyes, he looked every bit the traditional Japanese beauty. Where Naruto was bright and sunny like a summer day, this man was dark like the night.

"You're welcome." He said, smiling just slightly. "You should pay more attention. The road can be dangerous."

"Y-yes." Sakura agreed, nodding her head. Even his voice was low, calm and smooth. "Sorry for the trouble." She bowed her head respectfully.

She didn't see the glint of red in his eyes, as he patted her gently on the head. "It was no trouble." He murmured, turning away. "Remember to keep a watchful eye." Were his parting words, as she glanced at his retreating back, he gave her an offhand wave, the red center piece of the ring he wore caught the light and glinted briefly.

Worrying her bottom lip, Sakura wondered why it suddenly felt as though she'd swallowed a rock. Any thoughts of Naruto were silenced as she finished the rest of her journey home in almost-peace. Instead all she could feel was anxiety. She almost didn't hear Iruka calling her name as she went to mount the stairs.

"Sakura-chan!" The older man called happily, smiling up at her. "I thought it was you…you got here just in time." he motioned to the three men next to him. "These are some friends of mine from the police department." He explained. "I was telling them about what happened to you the other night…" He stated the last part quietly, from behind his hand, as he leaned a little closer. "I figured you might want to report it when you got back…but…." He eyed the worse for wear purse on her arm in confusion.

Running a shaky hand through her hair as she smiled tiredly, launching into an explanation as if it was nothing at all. "I went back to the cemetery." She explained briefly. "To finish up my prayers and clean up." Sakura hated how easily the lies were falling from her lips lately. "I found it up there on the ground…I guess the thief dropped it."

"That was lucky." A rather familiar voice quipped calmly from behind an orange book. It was the rather unruly white hair that gave away who he was. When the book lowered, she could see that today too, the mask was firmly in place. "Nice to see you again." He said, smiling.

Sakura swallowed nervously. "Y-you too." She got the feeling he could see right through her. Taking a few steps down, she stood next to Iruka awkwardly.

"Luck is indeed for the youth!" The man next to him was much more flamboyant, tall, muscular and sporting a bowl cut.

"Haruno Sakura, right?" The masked officer asked, hold out a hand to take her own. "Hatake Kakashi, and this is Gai." He stated simply, not even sparing a glance at his companion.

"Sakura?!" Gai cried, shoving Kakashi aside. "What a youthful, spring like name!" he grinned grasping her now vacant hand. "Don't you think so Lee?"

Silent until now the third member of their party turned out to be just as exuberant. "Yes! It's the epitome of spring time…such a beautiful name, for such a pretty girl…" his cheeks were tinted pink, but even so she couldn't but stare at the boys haircut and large eyebrows. He looked nearly identical to the man standing next to him, a less muscular and tall version, and younger version, but the semblance was nearly dizzying.

She was immediately left with the impression that just one of these guys was more than the world should be able to handle.

'Oh goodness.' Sakura thought, wide eyed. Once more lost for words, she quickly shut her gaping mouth. "T-thank you." She coughed, realizing she'd been complemented. 'What is it...for the majority of my life guys have ignored me…and then all of a sudden Naruto shows up, and now this guy too?'

What was her life turning into?

His smile only grew as he shot her a wink. "There's no need to thank me, anyone with eyes can see it." He exclaimed.

"Oh Lee, your youthful manliness is just astounding!" Gai exclaimed happily, clapping his hand on the younger man's back. "If you keep this up you won't be a rookie much longer!"

"Unique aren't they? "Kakashi mused tone ever smooth. "It was pretty brave of you to go back up there after what happened, guess I should have stayed a little longer after all." the last part seemed to be pointed at himself.

Glancing at him, she couldn't help but smile. "It's not your fault…I made the decision…and it was scary going back." She admitted, tilting her chin determinedly. "But the risk was necessary. I couldn't live my whole life scared of going somewhere alone- right?"

"How very wise!" Gai cheered pumping his fist. "Even in the face of fear you stand tall! very admirable!"

"Yes!" Lee agreed, eyes so bright she could almost say they were sparkling. "Sakura-san, you're so courageous- just as noble as your name!"

Her landlord didn't seem to share their sentiments, because he gently took her hands in his, and looked into her eyes, his tone somber and as fatherly as she'd ever heard. "Still, I really wish you hadn't of gone back there. At least not alone." Iruka mumbled quietly next to her. The worry in his eyes made her stomach twist, equal parts guilt and something warm.

"I'm sorry." Sakura stated, eyes lowering to study the floor. "I don't mean to worry you so much."

"It's alright, as long as you're safe I suppose. I fixed your lock by the way." Iruka stated, placing a key in the palm of her hand "Next time- although i sincerly hope there wont be one, just come ask for the spare. It won't be bothering me." He stated teasingly.

Blushing slightly, Sakura bobbed her head in agreement. "Yes of course."

"Soo…did you get a good look at the guy?" Kakashi asked, flipping a page in his book.

'Is that…is that porn?' Sakura wondered to herself, seeing the prohibition logo on the back. 'Oh god, it is!' What was with her luck lately? One strange person after another. "N-no it was too dark." She explained, averting her eyes from the damning book.

Iruka hummed thoughtfully. "Well you look pretty beat Sakura-chan, We'll let you get some rest. We were just heading out anyways."

"Oh...good night then." Sakura stated waving to him as he exited the building, Gai and Lee lingered for a moment.

"Kakashi, First one there has to pay!" The man who seemed to have more energy then a nuclear power plant boomed.

"Whatever." Kakashi mumbled, not even looking up from his book, as he lazed against the wall.

"My eternal rival…" Gai whimpered, tears streaking down his face. "So cool." And just like that the thick wet trails were wiped away as he shot her a dazzling smile, teeth shining and everything. "Farewell fair Sakura, may sweet dreams be yours! Lets us be off Lee!" He shouted, running past his acclaimed rival.

"Yes Gai-senpai!" Lee shouted, speeding after him, with a pause he sent Sakura one last smile. "I hope to meet you again soon Blossom."

"Great aren't they?" Kakahi asked, smiling back at her.

Smiling slowly, she nodded. "In a different sort of way."

"Kind wording." Kakashi joked, folding his book closed. "I'm sure this is the last thing you want to hear tonight…but you should be more careful being alone out at dark from now on…some strange things have been happening lately."

He didn't miss the look that shot through her eyes in the slightest. "Strange?" she repeated quietly. Lately everything had been odd.

"Disappearances mostly." Her eyes were drawn to his, as he continued on. "Women from around this area. There's going to be an announcement about it tonight. It's been kept pretty hush-hush until now…nobody wanted to cause a panic." Kakashi stated, his tone never belying his own feelings on the subject. "But, anyways- just be careful not to stay out too late for a while, until things get better."

It didn't sit right with her that the city would be able to keep things so quiet. Sakura hadn't heard anything about the disappearances he was talking about. 'Surely it would have been in the newspaper, if not the news…' Even if it was on the third page, it would have gotten around through word of mouth at least. 'Oh…Tenten, she went back alone…I hope she's alright.' Feeling sick to her stomach already, Sakura nodded jerkily. "Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem. Just being the usual friendly neighborhood police officer." Kakashi stated, shooting her a cheeky grin. "I'll be going now. Have a nice night, you look like you need the rest."

More than distracted, Sakura uttered out her own parting, before heading up to her apartment., she was a little surprised to see the two extra locks that Iruka had added, but then again, with as strange as things had been lately she was thankful for them.

It was after she'd managed to clear her head enough to do a load of laundry, take a shower and get dressed for bed that she found the time to sit down and listen to the news.

She was nearly lulled to sleep as the man in charge of finances droned on. …."_Hyuuga….Uchiha….quarterly earnings..."…  
><em>  
>And then came the information she'd been looking for.<p>

The announcer's smile never faded even though the words she spoke were anything but good news.

…._"In the Itabashi area there has been a rash of disappearances in the last few weeks. We've been told that there have been no apparent links to the victims besides their age. All of which have been in their twenties. It's been suggested by the police force that young women should avoid staying out at dark and take measures to travell in groups for their own safety. More information will be coming in through the following days…_

Biting her lip, Sakura sat up quickly and rummaged through her purse. 'Tenten, I hope you got home okay.' The search for her phone turned out to be fruitless and she was once again cursing herself for being to miserly to buy a land line. 'It figures I would end up missing something, even after all the trouble I went through.' she thought.

Although, with the sick looking blade Tenten carried around, she couldn't imagine anyone foolish enough to take the girl on. "Maybe she has the right idea then." Sakura grumbled to herself. "I bet no body kisses _her_ without permission." More importantly, she doubted monsters picked a fight with Tenten.

With a loud huff, Sakura flopped backwards, tipping her head back over the arm rest to stare uncomfortably out her Veranda windows. From this position everything was upside down. 'Like my life.' She thought sarcastically.

Even from inside of her apartment she could hear the loud buzzing of the city wracking through her brain. Sometimes it was amazing how people could acclimate to sleeping in such an environment. Every now and then there were nights where even she couldn't be lulled to sleep, no matter how many hours she had slaved away.

Tonight, the moon hung barely present, just a thin, nearly nonexistent sliver hanging over the city. 'Like the blade of a guillotine set to fall at any moment.' Sakura thought tiredly, eyes fluttering shut. The thought left her with a chill of foreboding.

It was the same feeling from the day before. Like a clock was slowly ticking down to zero, and although she didn't know exactly what would happen, she got the feeling everything would be irreparably changed. When the hand would finally reach the designated hour, she couldn't say exactly.

'When it does…' Sakura thought desperately, green eyes staring out to the moon. 'What's going to happen?...no.' She thought, shaking her head slightly. No matter how strange things were as of now, the feeling she was getting could not be trusted. 'It's probably just the aftershock or something.'

Even so, it lingered like a spider web. Soft and ghost like, it clung voraciously no matter how many times she brushed it away.

"What more could possibly happen?" Sakura murmured, rolling onto her side. The angle her neck had been at caused the bruises from the night before to ache something awful.

The normal, peaceful life that she had planned since she was seven already seemed like a faraway dream. There was a part of her that longed to catch hold of it once more. 'But then again, have I ever felt so alive before?' Sakura wondered to herself, hand over her heart. It felt as though she was finally awake. Like some long lost part of her was slowly waking up.

She'd felt it the moment he'd kissed her, and it scared her.

'Naruto….just what have you done?' Sakura thought to herself miserably, gently touching her lips.

This did not bode well for her at all.

* * *

><p>So uh...its been a little over a year?<p>

Time flies.

I am so sorry this has taken so long, but life has a way of wrangling you into a choke hold. With any luck i might have a chapter within two weeks.

This chapter was a little difficult, because i kept agonizing on whether or not Naruto was in character enough for my liking.

Anyways, don't be afraid to nag me a little more often to update :3 i won't bite.

I hope this chapter was good, it was a little difficult to get back into writing for so long, but i guess that's what i get right? lemme know how you liked it so i'm encouraged to write more-more often! :D

Thanks to everyone whose reviewed, and ever one who WILL review!

P.s: I wonder who that guy Sakura was saved by was...(Actually,_ I_ know who he was...do you? *Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge*)


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